snyder



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W.. O. SNYDER. CAR BELL No. 547,091.Patented Oct. 1,1895.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

.W.VI.O."SNYDBR.

- GAR BELL. No; 547,091. PatentedO'ct. 1,1895.

I .IE

iJN-rrnn States \VILLIAM 0. SN YDER,

Persist @rrres.

or NEW YORK, Y.

CAR -BELL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 547,091, dated October1, 189 5. Application filed September 5, 1894. Renewed August 17, 1895-Seriel No. 559,680. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM O. SNYDER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident'of New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bells forCable Cars, &c., of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bells or alarms of the classusually employed upon electric-cars, cable-cars, and other surfacerailways, and has for its object the production of a bell of this classof simple, compact, and economical construction, and which will be moreefficient and easier to operate than those now in use and less liable toget out of order. This class of bells, as stated, are designed for useupon electric, cable, or other surface cars, and are usually bolted orotherwise secured to the under side of the carplatform and are actuatedby a plunger pass-. ing up through the platform, the motorman or gripmanoperating the same by pressing the plunger downwardly with his foot. .Ashere; tofore constructed, so far as I am aware, in order to produce asound sufficiently continuous to be of value as an alarm,it has beennecessary for the motorman or gripman to operate the plunger repeatedly,as the clappers or tongues rotate only on the downward move ment of theplunger. This continuous movement of the plunger is not only extremelytiresome to the motorman or grip man, but also distracts his attentionfrom the management of his car. This is especially true in large cities,where it is necessary to preserve a substantially constant ringing fromthe beginning of a trip until its end. It is the object of my invention,therefore, to produce a bell or alarm in which these objectionablefeatures will be obviated; and to this end my said invention consists inthe details of construction and in the combination and arrangement ofparts, all as hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in theclaims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, inthe several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure1 is a view of my improvement attached to a fragment of the platform ofa car and showing the bell in section. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view.Fig. 3 is a view taken at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view takenon the opposite side to Fig. 1, the gong being omitted; and Fig. 5 is adetail of the tripping mechanism.

. A is a circular plate provided around its outer edge with a wall A andbolted or otherwise securely fastened to the under side of thecar-platform, as shown in Fig. 1. At the center of plate A is securedthe base-plate 13, from which depends the bifurcated vertical post orsupport 0, terminating at its lower end in the screw-threaded portion 0,by means of which the gongD is secured in place and in proper relationto the clappers or tongues U U. This post 0 is preferably cast integralwith the base-plate B and is slotted on either side for nearly itsentire length, forming a bifurcate. On one side of the support 0 arelocated the lugs F. E, in which the shaft F is mounted. This shaft F isprovided at one end with the gear-wheel G and at the other end isattached to suitable springs H H, coiled around it. Between the lugs E Eand suitably secured to the shaft F is the trip 1, adapted to be moveddownwardly by the plunger J, thus rotating the shaft F against thetension of its springs H H. hen the pressure upon the plunger J isremoved, the unwinding action of the springs H H will cause the shaft Fto rotate in an opposite direction, forcing the trip I and with it theplunger J upwardly to their normal positions, as shown in Fig. 1. Thepost O is also provided with a horizontal bracketarm K, having verticallugs L L and terminating at its outer end in the right-angled portion M,having an inward extension M. On the lug L L is mounted the horizontalshaft N, having at its inner end the beveled pinion O, meshing with thelarge gear G on shaft F and having at its outer end the large gear P,which in turn meshes with beveled pinion Q, at the lower end of verticalshaft R, which latter is journaled in the extension M of bracket K. Thevertical shaft R has located at its upper end the enlarged portion S,(see Fig. 3,) having the horizontal slot S, and loosely fitting in theslot S is the bar T, having at either end the bell clappers or tongues UU. The bar T is adapted to slide horizontally through the slot S, beinglimited in its movement only by the clappers U U. When one of theclappers U U strikes against the gong D, the bar T will slide throughslot S until the said clapper clears the side of the gong, and upon thefurther rotation of the shaft R the other clapper will in turn strikeagainst the gong, and the above operation will be repeated. In order toguide the plunger in its upward and downward movement, I provide a tubeV, in the manner shown, said tube being slotted to allow free movementof the trip I.

The operation of my device is as follows: When it is desired to ring thebell, the motorman or gripman presses downwardly upon the plunger J,forcing the trip I in a downward direction, thereby rotating shaft Fagainst the tension of springs II II, and with it the gear G. The gearG, meshing with pinion 0, will in turn rotate the horizontal shaft Nrapidly, imparting motion to the large gear P, and this large gear Iacting upon pinion Q, will cause the same to rotate very rapidly, andwith it the vertical shaft R, carryingthe bar T, and at its ends theclappers U U. This rapid rotation of the bar T will cause the clappers UU to strike against the gong D in the manner just described. Uponremoving the pressure upon plunger .I the springs II II will cause areverse action to that just described, thereby rotating the bar T andclappers U U in an opposite direction and causing the clappers to againstrike the gong 1) until the trip I reaches the limit of its upwardmovement, when the operator will again press the plunger downwardly, andthe operations just described will be repeated.

It will be seen that by my invention I prod nce a bell in which apractically-continuous ringing is effected with very little effort bythe operator. This is obvious for the reason that at each downward orupward movement of the plunger the clappers or tongues are set in motionand rapidly rotated by means of the train of gears, thus striking thegong continuously as the plunger is moved in either direction.

A bell of this construction is of course applicable for other uses thanthat of cable or like cars.

hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination in a bell of a plunger adapted in its downward andupward movement to actuate a trip whereby a horizontal shaft having aspring attached thereto is rotated, and sets in motion, by meansofatrain of gears, a vertical shaft carrying the bell clappers ortongues, whereby the said clappers or tongues are alternately rotated,first in one direction and then in the other-,substantially as describedfor the purposes set forth.

2. The combination in abell of the character described, of a bifurcatedpost, a horizontal main shaft secured in bearings on said post, andhaving a large gear at one end, meshing with a pinion 011 the end of ahorizontal shaft secured in bearings on abracket arm, on said post, andextending in a direction at right angles to the main shaft, and carryingat its outer end a gcarwheelin mesh with a pinion arranged on a verticalshaft carrying bell clappers or tongues, with a trip secured to the mainshaft, and adapted to be operated by a plunger, whereby upon the descentof the plunger the main shaft will be rotated, thus causing the clappersor tongues to rotate by means of the gearing mechanism, and whenpressure on the plunger is released, the main shaft, gearing mechanismand clappers or tongues will be rotated in an opposite direction bymeans of springs secured to said shaft, substantially as described forthe purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 20th day of August, A. I). 1894.

WILLIAM O. SNYDER. IVitnesses:

EUGENE V. MEYERs, CHARLES C. PETERS.

